Vol 39 No 20

The MPLA is trying to carve a puppet UNITA but this doesn't tackle the issue of Savimbi's troops

In one month, the government has transformed the Angolan political situation. Its intrigues became visible on 31 August, when it suspended ministers and parliamentarians belonging to the União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola. It is seeking to isolate Jonas Savimbi and his movement’s military wing (AC Vol 39 Nos 10 & 16) and to forge a new, malleable UNITA in the capital under the leadership of Hotels and Tourism Minister Jorge Valentim. The ruling Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola may hope that if it can wipe out Savimbi’s military capabilities, Valentim’s UNITA Renovada (Renewed) will become just another toothless opposition party.